This month is going to grab us by the hand and whisk us away. It’s already looking like Spring is coming: flocks of ducks flew overhead this morning when I came to work –and they were headed North! However, I was going South to the Public Library with sun shining in my face and a yellow cat running alongside my car as I headed for the river bridge. I don’t know where she was going.

Remnants of snow scattered along my path as I got closer to Battle Creek, and now at 1:40 pm, there are more puddles than little snow drifts along the street.

Business was a little slow from 9 a.m. till closing. A few adults and a handful of children came in and retrieved books to read or movies to take home, but it’s possible other people were busy outside. Our small quota of  patrons didn’t stay too long either.

It’s a little nippy yet, but this looks good for the beginning of Spring. You know, those ducks were encouraging each other to keep flying–pretty loudly, too. It made me want to shout a little.

If the weather stays friendly, it will be somewhat harder to stay inside and work. It might be tempting to play hooky and enjoy  the weather. Who knows? A holiday might come along and rescue us. It’s been known to happen. Now what is the next holiday coming to our rescue???

And then it snowed! I guess the next holiday must be Grab Your Shovel Day,  right?

What is the most special day in the month of February?? It could be the day my mother was born. It could be the wedding date someone chose. Could it be the sad day my father died, five days before mother’s 50th birthday?

No! It has to be Valentine’s Day, February 14. Every year this holiday reminds us of someone, some event, a happy party, or a special valentine. And–it gives everyone a chance to remember a friend or a member of your family with a genuine expression of love. Many songs remind us: “what the world needs now is love, sweet love”.

Why is this holiday bigger than personal occasions? Because all of us need to reclaim our membership to humanity, to reach out where needed and spread a good word. Some may feel it’s silly and mushy, but tell that to someone living alone or someone lying in a hospital bed with no visitors. Greet your friends and neighbors. Encourage our little ones to share their happiness. Pat your dog’s head, just in case he’s forgotten who you are!

So the New Year flies in and drags Old Man Winter with her, seeding the sidewalks with sleet, ice pellets and snow.

Oh, but the second week finds sunshine sparkling the snow left behind on the sidewalks, and the children come out to be squinting shyly in the sun, wondering where the rest of the snow bunnies went.

It’s a ragged world; changes occur with a gasp of breath and howl of frigid air. Where are we going this time? we ask. And the answer depends on where we stand: bravely in every gust or cowering inside, refusing to be tossed around.

Then the next Fury hurls sleet into the wind, splitting the clouds with ice and a wail. And with each gust the New Year sails ahead guiding and directing the tempest. How long can this continue? Where will the sails in the skies steer us?

Quiet settles with the snowflakes gently floating, and Howling drowns with a whimper, a cough and a sigh. Sunlight peeps down at a shifting sweep of white, as below, the tempest drifts quietly away. Silence assumes the end of another storm, and all sigh their relief.

January will chase into February soon, raising a song of hope. Something new may overtake our experience, raising a flag of triumph for a new day.

Here, in Lied Battle Creek Public Library, our working staff really enjoys decorating for holidays. I mean, we sometimes get so carried away that all you can really notice is the decor. Should you come in unaware,you might be startled at the blatant garishness of our efforts.

Take the month of October, if you can. We are leaping into one of our best collections of Fall and Halloween decor.  (Don’t tell anyone, but there’s a ‘dead witch’ under our easy chair–well at least her legs are.) Once in awhile, during October, someone will ease into that chair without noticing the legs sticking out underneath (purple stockings and orange shoes is a tip-off). But sometimes they do notice and they pull out the headless torso and toss it aside. One does want to be careful not to annoy the deceased.

Black cats, orange strings of lights with black spiders dripping from them, and ghastly decorated leafless trees adorned with pumpkins and creepy smiling pumpkins are not our only talents. There are evil-looking black owls perched in the Young Adult room on a ledge infested with black and silver feathered nests and the demanding warning – BEWARE!

Ghosts and  creepy pumpkins’ faces peer in from the windows. A giant black spider with a purple back and evil red eyes glaring down from the ceiling encourages you to COME IN!

Of course we have the run-of-the-mill Autumn leaves to settle your nerves a bit before you leave. We don’t want anyone to think there’s something unusual about our library. You will drop in, won’t you? We really miss you when you don’t. Ha ha ha ha!

September and October find us looking ahead for what is to come; yet  we can’t help glancing back at what is behind. Annual events spark memories of the past: Labor Day, Patriot Day, Constitution Day–all influenced the way we live in this country. A nation of workers and patriots and law abiding citizens (for the most part) built a way of life other nations envy.  And even though events seem to turn against us, we must acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our people, our representatives in government, the strong defense of our military, and our faith as a nation. Whoever we are and whatever our faith, Americans acknowledge how precious it is to live in this land.

So when Autumn rears her pretty head, we need to remind ourselves of what we have and what wonders may come living here and working here together. The ‘falling leaves ‘ drift by my window now.  Each golden and crimson leaf fluttering in the breeze is a treasure, although a brief one, that reminds us of our natural  and national treasures and hopes for the future.

To everyone who donated to the needs of our citizens whose homes laid in the path of a hurricane or a fire, thank you. To all of our policemen, firemen, emergency aid workers, doctors, and rescuers, thank you. Not all of us can rush to the rescue, perhaps, but we can all be grateful to those who do.